The Illinois gubernatorial race has now come to an end, with Republican nominee state Sen. Bill Brady conceding the race to Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn.
The Chicago Tribune reports:
“I just a few minutes ago got off the phone with Gov. Quinn and congratulated him on his victory,” said Brady at a packed news conference at a hotel in downstate Bloomington with dozens of well wishers in attendance. “We came to the conclusion that Gov. Quinn won this race.”
Brady called leading Illinois Republicans this morning to inform them of his decision to end the race as he trails Quinn by more than 19,000 votes.
[TPM SLIDESHOW: Meet Your New Governors]
Quinn was first elected lieutenant governor in 2002 and re-elected on the Democratic ticket in 2006. He succeeded to the governorship in 2009 following the impeachment and removal of Dem Gov. Rod Blagojevich, as a result of a scandal involving allegations that Blagojevich conspired to sell the appointment to President Obama’s former Senate seat.
As a result of the state’s ethics scandals and the rough economy, Quinn suffered from poor poll ratings through his whole term so far. He barely survived a primary challenge earlier this year from state Comptroller Dan Hynes, and trailed in nearly all the general election polls.
As such, his narrow win stands out as a rare come-from-behind win for Democrats this year — even if it was something as basic as a win by an incumbent in a Dem-leaning state.
Eric Kleefeld
Eric Kleefeld joined TPM as an intern for the final months of the 2006 midterm elections, and then kept showing up for work. His other interests include guitars, old comic books and the politics of various English-speaking countries.
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